


Haeccity

by whiffingbooks



Series: Eleusinian Mysteries (or the things untold) [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Durmstrang, F/M, Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Percy and Audrey relationship, Post-Canon, Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pre-Epilogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:07:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21874888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiffingbooks/pseuds/whiffingbooks
Summary: “I was thinking,” he suddenly started speaking. “I was wondering whether you will accompany me to the Burrow for the Sunday lunch?” He didn't look directly at her, choosing to sip tea in silence.“Err, what?” She blinked owlishly. “You want me to meet your parents?”“No.” Percy finally pushed the cup away. Thinking about what he said, he rushed to clarify, “I mean, my parents will be there so it is kind of inevitable. I am just extending an invitation.”Audrey didn’t know how to react. “I will love to meet your parents, but why am I getting the feeling that it will not sit well with you?”(Or the Weasleys meet Audrey for the first time.)
Relationships: Audrey Weasley/Percy Weasley
Series: Eleusinian Mysteries (or the things untold) [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1404529
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	Haeccity

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys!  
> It's super cold here and getting colder every second. So I'll keep this short.  
> Don't forget to leave kudos! (and all that shit).

Percy looked stiffer than usual, something she never thought could’ve been possible. He fiddled with the handle of his favourite mug as well as repeatedly tapping his fingers on the counter. Audrey tried to distract herself from his unusual behaviour, instead, focusing on the essay that she had to submit in a month to become a full-fledged archivist in the British Ministry. Sometimes, she wished that things in Britain were as simple as they were in Scandinavia.

“I was thinking,” he suddenly started speaking. “I was wondering whether you will accompany me to the Burrow for the Sunday lunch?” He didn't look directly at her, choosing to sip tea in silence.

“Err, what?” She blinked owlishly. “You want me to meet your parents?”

“No.” Percy finally pushed the cup away. Thinking about what he said, he rushed to clarify, “I mean, my parents will be there so it is kind of inevitable. I am just extending an invitation.” 

Audrey didn’t know how to react. “I will love to meet your parents, but why am I getting the feeling that it will not sit well with you?”

She loved Percy, no doubt about that. She had told him that many times, and he had latched onto her words like a man dying of hunger. She had seen him suffer day and night because of his abandonment; the day he had rushed off to Hogwarts was the worst day of her life, and sabotaging all the Ministry records had been nothing short of a relief. He had been visiting her far less than she wanted him to, but she understood. Building a relationship with your estranged family was never easy.

“No, I-“ he broke off in the middle. Gently wrapping his hands around her and pushing back his horn-rimmed glasses, he continued, “I know that you get uncomfortable with loud people. My family is full of them. I don’t want you to feel as if you need to fit in with them.”

Audrey gripped his hand tighter. “Trust me nothing can make me happier than meeting your family.”

  
Their hands remained clasped for the rest of their date.

* * *

  
“This is Audrey Maheshwari-Weaver.” She had never seen so many redheads sitting in one room. She suddenly felt underdressed when so many eyes fixated on her in an instant. Percy seemed to understand her uneasiness, as he quickly gave her a reassuring look. 

“Oh, dear!” A plump, redheaded woman moved in the speed of light to reach her and enveloped her into a hug. “Percy mentioned you quite a few times. It is so good to finally meet you!”

Her boyfriend smirked a little before continuing the introductions. “This is my mum, Molly Weasley. That is my father, Arthur Weasley,” he pointed towards a man who was fiddling with the wireless. She knew all of them beforehand, but in these past few years, she had learnt that Percy liked to talk more when he felt nervous.

“Percy’s got a girlfriend!” A man with one ear- George, she presumed- cackled loudly. “Hi, I’m George. I’ve ear-ed about you for quite a long time, but it’s amazing to finally meet you. Fascinating.”

Before anyone could do anything, the remaining man stood up from where he was playing chess and thwacked George. He quickly moved aside from where his brother tried to return the wallop and approached her with a bright smile. 

“Don’t mind that git. I’m Ron, by the way,” he shook her hand civilly. Turning towards Percy, he grimaced, “I sent Harry to stop her.” Simultaneously, a muffled shout and giggle could be heard.

Both of them let out identical sighs, and Audrey forced down her snicker. Mr Weasley finally let go of the wireless, probably deeming it irreparable, and addressed her.

“Oh, hello! Audrey, isn’t it? Very nice to meet you.” Gesturing to the sofa, he said, “Please, sit down. Bill and Fleur are arriving later. Ginny and Harry are upstairs doing something that I’m not going to discuss. I’m afraid Charlie will not join us today.”

Sitting down on the sofa, she looked around. The room was small and exactly like how she had imagined after looking at the photographs. “So, Audrey,” Mr Weasley continued, “I’m afraid Percy has kept you a bit of a mystery. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?” 

With all of the Weasleys focusing on her, she started feeling a little stifled. Percy seemed to understand her hesitation, as he made his way and sat beside her. Just then, a pair of footsteps hurtled down towards the living room, which made Mrs Weasley draw herself to her full height. The door burst open and a whirlwind of red and black entered the room, making Mrs Weasley shout.

“We have a guest in the house! Honestly, Ginevra, have you got no shame?” A pretty, young woman with a long mane of red hair practically skipped towards the sofa with a resounding shout of “You didn’t teach me any” which made the older woman sputter. 

The black-haired man stood up from where he had landed, and she almost gasped. Her eyes immediately found the horrible lightning mark on his forehead- a scar which would draw everyone’s attention. The man- a legend really- seemed unaware of her inner turmoil. Instead, he headed towards where Ginevra had plopped herself.

“I’m sorry, Percy. I did try to distract her as much as possible. For a second, it even worked.” Harry Potter casually wrapped his arm around the youngest Weasley, who was rifling through the cardboard box she had bought.

“We could hear how you were trying to distract her, Potter. Always knew you were the easy sort,” George’s grin widened even further, if possible. Harry Potter tried to flip him off discreetly, but Mrs Weasley noticed and shot him a warning glare. He dropped his hand suddenly, and all of them pretended to not hear George grumbling about favouritism for ‘Harry’ and discrimination against redheads whereas Ron shot him exasperated glances.

“You were saying?” Mr Weasley kindly steered the conversation towards a tongue-tied Audrey.

“Oh! My name is Audrey Maheshwari-Weaver and I finished my schooling from Durmstrang Institute in the year 1992. I’m contractually obligated to keep the location of my former school a secret, but I lived in Scandinavia at the time, at a place quite close to it. I’m now an assistant archivist in the British Ministry of Magic. I attended the Euro-Glyph School of Extraordinary Languages in London for five years before opting to be an archivist.” She ended her monologue and refused to meet the eyes of all the Weasleys (and Harry Potter) who were surely giving her rather odd looks.

“Well, that’s very interesting,” Mr Weasley’s voice was devoid of any criticism. She raised her head and slowly assessed everyone’s expressions. Apart from George who looked a bit bored, no one gave any indication that they were disappointed by her monotonous tirade.

“She was the one who messed up all of the records containing information about Muggleborns,” Percy gave her a gentle smile which made her flush and stutter.

“It was-I mean, uh, I wasn’t alone there. I didn’t join in the final battle, so I thought- I mean someone should make sure none of the records went to anyone else’s hands, right?” 

“Don’t worry, Audrey,” Ginny spoke up, “We Weasleys are usually attracted to ‘ride or die’ kind of people. So you have already earned more than half of the points in your favour by not supporting Voldemort. Now, come over here and look at the dolls that Percy and I used to play with. This is my favourite hippogriff, Maurice.”

* * *

  
“I think it went well,” Audrey said that night while applying her sleeping mask. “Once I overcame my awkwardness, I think they liked me.”

“They liked you especially for your awkwardness,” Percy replied as he finally finished rechecking the documents for the umpteenth time. “Merlin, if I had to listen to Ginny tell you once more about my old rat, I would’ve transfigured her into one.”

“I’m pretty sure Harry Potter might have had a problem with that.” She kept her tone light, but he knew her well to understand her meaning.

“Harry is just a part of the family. He may be the most famous since Dumbledore right now, but he is just one guy who tries to sneak off with my sister the moment Mum stops noticing them.”

“Your parents told me to call them by their names,” she extinguished the lantern and snuggled under the bed covers beside him.

“Well, you’re part of the family too,” he trailed off unsurely. “If you want to be, that is.”

She opened her mouth to reply as he hurried to elucidate his statement. “Not that this is a proposal. I mean, I will one day, and I hope you will accept it when the day comes. But even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter. Except for the impending heartbreak, my family and I will always welcome you as a part of the family.”

She thought back to the boisterous family lunch they had, everyone trying to speak over each other, the countless dishes spread out before her and the intense yet short Quidditch match which ended with Ginny’s team winning. She felt the overwhelming sensation that she had felt the moment she entered the Burrow, but with that came a sense of belonging that she hadn’t had since leaving her old life behind. 

She imagined her father’s face yelling at her that no one would ever care for her and her mother looking on the scene impassively.

“I will wait for that day,” the words felt like a promise.


End file.
